The Best League

[siniko]

Well In my "humble" opinion i think that Spain has the best league followed by the English Premier

[eNe]

Wow, nice thread. Why didn't I come up with this, earlier? <_<

But what's the criteria here. Do we vote for which league was the best last year, which one we expect to be the best in the upcoming season, which league was the best the last 5 years, ever since we started watching football, or. . .?

My answer changes depending the question, so clear it up please.

[siniko]

ever since you started watching Football

[eNe]

Than definitely Italy - Serie A.

[Michael*]

Great thread! (Y)

I was always a big fan of the Italian game, so I almost voted for Serie A. It's no longer shown on TV over here though, so I must admit that I'm a little bit out of touch with the league. So La Liga gets my vote, simply because it's viewed by the world's top players as the place to be. We might not like to admit it as fans of the Premier League, but the vast majority of world class players in their prime wouldn't dream of joining an English club. The PL's top foreign players were either picked up by their clubs at a very young age (Ronaldo, Fabregas, Van Persie), arrived when they were already past their best (Ballack, Deco, Shevchenko) or improved beyond all recognition while playing for an English club (Essien, Alonso, Drogba, Henry). The only exception I can think of at the moment is Fernando Torres, and his best years are still very much ahead of him. So as much as I'd love to see players like Messi, Aguero and Kaka joining English clubs, I can't see it happening. The Premier League is a stepping stone, not a final destination.

[red_ed]

^ And English football is so different from Continental football

I like La Liga a lot because its open and very technical. Maybe not the best tactically or physically but the sport is played (for the most part) with technique and with the entertainment of the fans in mind. Almost every week, there is bound to be a good game on, between top teams, mid table and relegation teams. The competitiveness is there and its not uncommon for an upset a lot of the time. I feel that the standard of play has gotten worse over the years, especially some of the officiating. Current rating=7.5/10

English league is entertaining in an action-packed, rush the ball end-to-end sense, but there's no technique and little tactics. It's a bit better now that there's so much money because it means some of the top managers in the world are here, and clubs can sign top foreign imports to mix technique and tactics with the physical English style. Competitiveness-wise, it has been lacking for years though last season was entertaining until Villa lost the UEFA Cup. The only reason I watch now is to keep up with Liverpool games really. Current rating=6/10

I don't watch much Serie A, but I like the tactical side of their game. It's beautiful if you can appreciate it properly, but sometimes very dull. I don't watch it very much now unfortunately, but from the games I have been able to watch for the past few seasons (and they've only been matches between the top teams), the goals-per-game ratio has gone up and it is great to see a blend of tactics, pace and technique. Not sure how representative of the all the matches that is, but if what I've seen is anything to go by then I'd give it a current rating of 8/10. Pity about the crowd trouble

[*Bronx_Bomber*]

EPL

[Michael*]

^ And English football is so different from Continental football

I like La Liga a lot because its open and very technical. Maybe not the best tactically or physically but the sport is played (for the most part) with technique and with the entertainment of the fans in mind. Almost every week, there is bound to be a good game on, between top teams, mid table and relegation teams. The competitiveness is there and its not uncommon for an upset a lot of the time. I feel that the standard of play has gotten worse over the years, especially some of the officiating. Current rating=7.5/10

I wholeheartedly agree. There's usually a few Spanish games shown over here each week and you can always watch in the knowledge that you're virtually guaranteed to get twists and turns and see at least two or three goals. I think the Premier League is home to the strongest collective top 4 but strength in depth is definitely lacking (I include my own team in that, unfortunately) and the gap between haves and have nots is getting wider every year. So often, when the top four play against the so-called 'lesser' teams, it's either a rearguard action from start to finish or a 6-0 thrashing. I enjoy that kind of tactical exchange at times, but there's a limit. In Spain, the smaller teams don't appear scared to have a go at the Barcelonas and the Madrids. It's very rare that you see spoiling tactics used and that makes for better matches.

[red_ed]

The EPL's collective top 4 is the strongest I must agree because they had the best players and some of the best managers, but I'm not a big fan of the top 4 matches because most of the time neither team is willing to open up and it becomes a cagey affair. Neither am I a big fan of finals either, I always feel the best games in a competition are the semis (barring Istanbul 2005 ) It's always fun watching Arsenal though.

I've seen teams go to Barca and Madrid and park the team bus, but it doesn't happen as much when the team isn't in the relegation zone and it normally only happens at the Bernabeu or Camp Nou when the smaller team is playing away. In the EPL it always happens whether or not the smaller teams play home or away because there's so much money at stake. I think it's kinda sad really and it really doesn't add to the argument that the EPL is the best league at all

[MattLoveModels]

Everyone knows MLS is best.

All hail Becks!

[siniko]

what are you talking about we all know MLS is all about Cuauhtemoc Blanco

[Fergetta]

Italia: Serie A! The most interesting for me!

[Michael*]

The EPL's collective top 4 is the strongest I must agree because they had the best players and some of the best managers, but I'm not a big fan of the top 4 matches because most of the time neither team is willing to open up and it becomes a cagey affair. Neither am I a big fan of finals either, I always feel the best games in a competition are the semis (barring Istanbul 2005 ) It's always fun watching Arsenal though.

I've seen teams go to Barca and Madrid and park the team bus, but it doesn't happen as much when the team isn't in the relegation zone and it normally only happens at the Bernabeu or Camp Nou when the smaller team is playing away. In the EPL it always happens whether or not the smaller teams play home or away because there's so much money at stake. I think it's kinda sad really and it really doesn't add to the argument that the EPL is the best league at all

I do still think there's a great sense of occasion when the PL's top 4 meet each other but I have to agree that the matches don't always deliver. When they do, like in the Liverpool-Arsenal 4-4 draw, it's spectacular. But it's very difficult to argue that the Premier League is the best when the bottom half of the table is so poor.

By and large, you can forgive the smaller teams trying to be cagey away from home, but my biggest fear for the game is that we're starting to see spoiling tactics more often in the bigger matches. I'm thinking back to the Chelsea/Barcelona CL first leg - what we saw was a team costing £600million to assemble, who didn't have the bottle to cross the half-way line. Was it effective? Yes, but no-one wants to see games like that every week. Not advocating playing an expansive game away from home and losing 8-0 of course, but it'd be nice to see a happy medium.